Any decision regarding the political future of Home Affairs Minister Manuel Mallia will only be taken when a probe into Wednesday night’s shooting incident involving his driver is concluded, the Prime Minister said yesterday.

“If the magisterial inquiry proves any involvement from the minister’s side to interfere in the case, he will have to shoulder political responsibility,” Joseph Muscat said.

He was reacting to Opposition leader Simon Busuttil who called for Dr Mallia’s resignation for “lying” over the version of events surrounding the incident. It emerged on Thursday that Paul Sheehan fired three shots at a Scotsman’s car that crashed into the minister’s vehicle.

The controversy erupted after the ministry initially claimed that two warning shots had been fired, but photos published later in the media showed bullet holes in the car. The following day, Dr Mallia corrected the ministry’s statement at a news conference.

“At the first available opportunity, the minister corrected the information given in a statement which was based on the initial indications which had reached the Department of Information,” Dr Muscat said.

Prime Minister Joseph Muscat. Photo: Matthew Mirabelli

Action will be taken if it’s shown he interfered

The Prime Minister said the government’s information department insisted that a statement should be released immediately after the incident, to allay any claims that the case would be kept under wraps.

Asked whether the minister should step down until the inquiry was concluded, the Prime Minister reiterated that action would be taken if it was established that Dr Mallia had interfered in the case.

He added that his position on the matter was much clearer than that adopted by the Opposition leader who was recently faced with allegations involving former minister George Pullicino.

“In that case, Dr Busuttil kept defending Mr Pullicino at all costs,” he said.

Dr Muscat noted that journalists who were being relayed information from government sources on Wednesday night were also made aware that the details being given had not yet been verified.

“For this reason, the statement issued by the ministry included details which later turned out to be incorrect,” he said.

However, the Prime Minister rejected Opposition claims of a cover-up attempt and insisted that no media was hindered from covering the incident.

Claims that the version of events was changed in the wake of any inconsistencies with media reports, which might have surfaced in the ministry’s statement, were also denied.